


Silent Words

by jaydick_love



Category: DCU
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-07 22:32:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4280400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaydick_love/pseuds/jaydick_love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick Grayson can't speak, hasn't been able to since the day he was born. After meeting him, Jason just wants to get to know him better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silent Words

Dick Grayson didn’t come into the world outside of the womb like everyone else. Most of the other babies cried and wailed at the top of their lungs, loud enough to deafen anyone in the room. Dick, he came out kicking with his mouth open in a silent wail. He was silent. After some scans and tests, the doctors found that his voice box never formed. His neck was fine, it just developed without a voice box.

So Dick Grayson grew up in a silent world, hearing everything, but unable to say anything back. He communicated through sign language, which hardly anyone knew. They all thought he was weird, awkward. Despite his good looks and lean, well built body, he was still classified as strange and unwanted thanks to the lack of a voice.

He wondered what it would be like to have a voice. What it would sound like, how his life could have turned about differently. He longed for a voice, to fit into the crowd and be able to have a conversation.

Dick thought that no one who could speak would ever want him besides his parents and relatives. Thankfully, he was proved wrong.

On his daily routine of waking up early and heading to Starbucks before he would go teach science at a special school for children who had to use sign language, he ran into someone as he rushed out.

“Whoa!” crowed a tall, muscular and dark haired man as Dick’s steaming hot coffee splattered onto the stranger’s bare arm.

Eyes wide, Dick flushed and hustled to grab some napkins. The man followed, taking the napkins offered to him and wiping down the coffee.

Dick couldn’t speak, so he mouthed, “Sorry.”

The stranger’s eyebrows shot up in confusion, not really getting what was up with Dick. He glanced at the barista, whom knew Dick as a regular costumer. She spoke up, “He’s mute. Can’t talk.”

“Ah.” The stranger murmured.

Dick took out his iPhone and hurriedly typed a message in the Notes app to show to the stranger as the man wiped off the remains of coffee.

I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Can I buy you a coffee to make up for it?

The man read the message, a little smile curling on his lips.

“That’d be nice.”

Dick ordered the stranger a coffee, handing it to him.

“Thanks.” The stranger murmured, taking a hearty sip.

“Welcome.” Dick mouthed.

“So can I ask you a question?”

Dick nodded. He was expecting the usual question, like, ‘Why can’t you talk?’ But instead, the stranger asked, “What’s your name?”

Going back to typing messages, he replied. Dick Grayson. And you?

“Jason Todd.” He smirked. “Hey, you communicate with sign language, don’t you?”

Another nod.

“That’s really cool. This sounds weird,” Jason looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his head. “But do you want to teach me? I’ll buy you coffee as payment.”

Dick blinked blankly at him for a moment. Free coffee? That would be nice.

Sure.

“Sweet. See you tomorrow, same place, same time?”

Another nod.

“Thanks for the coffee. I’ll see ya tomorrow bright and early.”

Dick waved goodbye before heading to work.

The next morning at Starbucks, Dick and Jason shared a small booth. Dick showed him the ABC’s, and that was all they could do before Dick had to head to work. The next morning, a couple phrases like ‘How are you?’ and ‘Good morning.’

The time always seemed to slip by too quickly, like the twenty minutes reserved for them was ten. Each day, they strayed a bit later and later, just wanting to be in each other’s presence. Eventually, they planned the sessions earlier, making them longer. Twenty five minutes. Then thirty. Thirty five. Forty.

Whenever Jason didn’t get a motion of his hands correct, Dick would correct him by reshaping his hands to make the correct movement. And every time he touched Jason, there was this little spark of electricity that made him all warm and fuzzy.

This went on for a good ten months, them meeting up in the morning and the barista working there just grinning at them. By that time, Jason was pretty fluid in sign language; he caught on quickly.

One morning, Dick signed at him, ‘I think you’ve got it all down now. You’re a natural.’

Jason grinned. ‘Yeah. I didn’t ask for all those lessons for no reason.’

‘Why did you want to learn from me?’ Jason could have gone to a school or found an instructor instead of some random guy who spilled coffee on him. But instead he chose Dick out of all the people he could have picked.

‘So I could ask you this: Go out with me?’

Dick paused, shocked. Surprised, but pleased. Very. He signed back with a grin, ‘Just name when and where.’

So Jason did.


End file.
